Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (“PARC”) has developed a filament extension atomizer system that generates aerosols from liquids. The system generally involves stretching a liquid filament between two diverging surfaces until the filament breaks up into a spray of droplets. In some versions of the system, the fluid input to the system involves doctor blades and the pressure formed between the two surfaces. In one version, the two surfaces are rollers and the rollers form a nip between them to distribute the fluid.
Typically, for most fluids this is very effective. However, fluids having extremely high surface tensions will either be flung off the high-speed rollers or not flow through tight contact blade set ups. In addition, the use of doctor blades and nips to control the film limit the ability of the droplet size to be altered. A single roller can only simultaneously produce a single set of droplets. In some cases, it may be highly desirable to create small droplets of a range of sizes. To accomplish this, the system must form a range of filaments without reliance on a doctor blade and feed system to introduce the fluid into the system.